Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg and Giorgio Armani have refused to comment after being revealed, along with many other world-renowned fashion designers, as customers of fur farmers who were caught on video torturing rabbits.

Last Chance For Animals and Animal Equality, which conducted a two year undercover investigation of 70 rabbit fur farms in Spain, chose fashion week to release both the names of the customers and the outrageous footage taken during their investigation.

Advocates for animals employ many different approaches to ending the horrific fur trade. Some lobby lawmakers to ban the sale of fur; others work to educate or shame fur consumers, designers, retailers; and a small number break into fur farms and liberate animals in the dark of night, at times permanently shutting down the operation.

Regardless of strategy, what we share in common is outrage that millions of helpless animals are intensely confined, abused, neglected and deprived for their entire lives before being executed and skinned – all for the purpose for vanity.

Please visit endfahsioncruelty.org to take action and be a voice for these animals.

Most people will remember Joan Rivers as a trailblazer for women in comedy; for her unparalleled work ethic; for her irreverence; and for her advocacy, philanthropy and generosity. But some will remember her as the poster child for fur. She wore – and glamorized – fur more than just about any other public figure. And that has been a major source of frustration and anger for the countless people who dedicate themselves to ending this most egregious form of animal cruelty.

Ms. Rivers gave the impression that she had misgivings about wearing fur. When people criticized or challenged her, she asked if they wore leather, suggesting that they were just as guilty. She also attempted to justify her fur by saying that she had rescue dogs, as if the kind deed of adopting animals gave her a free pass for other forms of cruelty. When she was challenged by activists at public events, she struck back, saying that her fur was 15 or 20 years old, as if wearing old fur doesn’t generate demand for new fur. As an aside, some of her fur was, in fact, new.

Fur Coat and fur scarf

In the end, Ms. Rivers’ love of fur must have outweighed any guilt that she felt for wearing it. She had many opportunities to do the right thing by renouncing fur, as her own daughter Melissa did in a commercial for PETA, but she instead defended it and, at times, displayed contempt for those who challenged her, as shown in this video taken in July, 2014:

Because of her fame and unmatched consumption of fur, Joan Rivers will be one of the faces of fur when society relegates this barbaric form of animal cruelty to the history books. Now that she’s gone, will she come face-to-face with the hundreds off animals who were tortured and killed for her vanity?

After reading our post about a U.K.-based fashion designer who makes purses and iPad cases out of deer skin, Elizabeth Ohlendorf from Sacramento, California, created a Change.org petition demanding that Rosemary Hobrough “Stop killing animals to create purses and other fashion items out of deer/fawn skin/fur.” The petition also calls for a boycott of her online store, RAH & Co. Thank you for taking action, Elizabeth.

Skin is not a fabric, even if taken from animals who were hunted on the grounds of overpopulation. We have an overpopulation of humans too, but no one is using that as a justification to kill us and turn our bodies into purses. Please sign and share the petition.

A fashion designer in the U.K. is making handbags and iPad cases out of deer skin. In response to the justification that the deer are killed anyway to prevent them from starving due to overpopulation, PETA said, ‘Selling bags made of animals who were gunned down while enjoying a natural life… results only in greedy, arrogant deer skin sellers keeping deer alive each year just long enough to kill them so as to sell more deer skin products.’

photo: Daily Mail

In modern day times, why do we regard someone else’s skin as fabric? The skins of cows, mink, fox, rabbits, alligators, snakes, deer and many other animals don’t belong to us. With all of the alternatives available in 2014, shopping at cruelty free companies like Vaute Couture, Brave GentleMan, John Bartlett and MooShoes would be no skin off your back. Please learn more about the inherent cruelty in the fur business.

Victor de Souza, a celebrity fashion designer who has created dresses for Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, is using horse-drawn carriages in the busy streets of Midtown Manhattan for his September 3rd runway show. The Argentinian designer says the horses perfectly represent the “romantic” vision of his collection. Activists who have been fighting to end NYC’s inhumane, unsafe and archaic horse-drawn carriages will crash this last ditch promotion of the industry. NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised to take the carriages off the streets by the end of the year.

Photo: Joe Corrigan/Getty Images

If NYC’s horse-drawn carriage trade wasn’t the subject of a highly publicized war between the industry and those who want to ban it, would Mr. de Souza have chosen to use carriages in his fashion show? Probably not. De Souza knows this stunt will get press coverage because of the controversy (it already has), and he knows he will get even more press coverage because of the planned protests. Is all PR good PR?  Maybe – unless a horse spooks on the “runway,” and a fashion model flies head first onto the pavement. Perhaps de Souza will cancel the show if he feels he has already received enough free publicity. Please sign PETA’s petition and, if you live in the NYC area, join the protest. Finally, please watch the award-winning documentary film BLINDERS if have any questions about why horse-drawn carriages must be banned from NYC.